


Small World

by Dreamy_Heichou



Series: Reincarnation AU prompts [6]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fluff, French Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), German Eren Yeager, Implied Sexual Content, Implied top!Levi, Language Barrier, M/M, Minor Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein, they speak in Japanese to each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23898181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamy_Heichou/pseuds/Dreamy_Heichou
Summary: Eren found Armin, he found Mikasa, but will he ever find Levi? The world they live in is so much bigger than the one he used to know in his past life, which makes him worried about finding the man. He doesn’t have to look very far however, as one day they come across each other in the middle of the big metropolis that is Tokyo, Japan. Maybe the world isn’t as big as Eren thought it was.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Series: Reincarnation AU prompts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629391
Comments: 8
Kudos: 203





	Small World

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final prompt for this series!
> 
> The prompt was:  
>  **We meet again but we don’t speak the same language.**
> 
> Well, I cheated a little because they do in a way, but Levi is a beginner so communication is awkward ;)  
> Every time they talk it's in Japanese, expect for the French part which I didn't translate because it's basically Levi cursing and being frustrated lol
> 
> Enjoy! :)

The first person he found was Armin.

They grew up in the same village in the south of Germany, and from the very start Eren had been drawn to him. He had felt the same sense of familiarity he would experience when he was with his mother or his father right on the first day they had met, in the daycare, without knowing why. They had been both very young and adults had found them becoming friends so quickly adorable, but Eren and Armin knew there was something more to it. They only understood why as they grew up older and were able to talk about their dreams.

The second person he found was Mikasa.

He moved out to Japan with his family because of his father’s work when he was around nine, spent several years doing his best learning the language and try to familiarize himself with the country’s culture and way of living. Then, in high school, he met her. It was quite the dramatic reunion, with Mikasa crying tears of joy while hugging him to make sure he was real and with him smiling to the point of hurting his cheeks. He felt the same as when he had found Armin, except this time he knew why and what it meant.

Eren had always considered himself lucky. He managed to find his two best friends in this vast world, could talk to them every day thanks to modern technology, and even live with one of them. He could have easily gone back to Germany once he had turned old enough to live on his own and leave his family’s nest, but after living in Japan for over a decade he realized he wanted to stay there. There was nothing for him in Germany anymore beside his childhood memories. Of course, there was Armin too, but he and Eren had different ambitions and they were content being able to see each other once or twice a year in person and talking through their computer the rest of the time. Besides, Armin had managed to find Jean once at university, so it wasn’t as if he was alone; there was only very little Eren could take seeing them all lovey-dovey with one another without wanting to poke his eyes out.

Overall, Eren was happy. He had a good life, did his best to enjoy it to its fullest, and had nothing standing in his way. The memories he had from his past life couldn’t even be considered as an inconvenience. It was like remembering a book you had read a long time ago or a movie you had watched; he could remember some passage of it, remember the feelings he had experienced back then, but it wouldn’t overwhelm him like the first time. He felt sympathy for his old self, but that was all. There were no feelings of guilt or sadness, only gratefulness because these memories had brought amazing people in his life; people he loved with all his heart.

No, Eren’s life was perfect. Well, _almost_ perfect. If he was being honest with himself, there was still something missing. Or more specifically, someone.

Levi.

There was no way Eren didn’t remember the man when he had been the only keeper of his heart, the only person who fully understood him, and the only one who could make his heart skip a beat. Eren had been lucky, that was true, but not when it came to matters of the heart. Levi could be anywhere and Eren had no idea where to look nor how to search for him. This new world had its advantages, but also its inconveniences - how big the world was compared to before for instance.

He wouldn’t lose hope anyway. It took him sixteen years to find Mikasa and nineteen for Armin to find Jean. If they really were meant to be together in this new life, Eren believed they would find each other in due time. Sooner would be better, of course, but he didn’t want to be too greedy; he had already been blessed enough. Some people spent their life looking for someone they didn’t even know and sometimes would never find. He, at least, knew exactly who he was looking for.

* * *

Eren looked up at all the colorful billboards covering the tall buildings and let out a long sigh. He didn’t usually come to Akihabara, not particularly a fan of anime, manga or video games in general, but still, here he was. The reason for him coming to the very bustling district was none other than Jean, who had giving him a list of goods and figures to buy for him since Eren was going to visit Armin in Germany very soon. Sometimes he felt like he was being too nice with his best friend’s boyfriend, but then when it was their turn to come to Japan, they would always bring him his favorite German sweets that he couldn’t find around here, so it was only repayment for that, he guessed. Besides, it wasn’t like he really disliked Jean, even though they would always bicker like children. What he hated was the crowd he had to navigate through, the chirpy anime songs playing in every store and the nerdy conversations he would hear at every footstep he took around the district.

At least he already knew exactly what he was looking for, thanks to Jean's detailed list filled with pictures – Eren knew it was only to make sure he didn’t get the wrong ones but he was thankful for it. He wasn’t at his first visit in Akihabara to go shopping for his otaku friend either, so he knew where to go and thus wouldn’t have to stay longer than needed.

Eren was walking with long strides and his eyes looking around himself in the search of the store he wanted to go into when a flash of black hair caught his attention. It wasn’t unusual one would say, what with being in Japan where 90% of the population had black hair. Eren couldn’t explain exactly why that particular mop of black hair attracted his attention more than the others, but somehow it did. His eyes were glued to the silhouette of the person, not knowing exactly what was drawing him to them, until he was close enough to understand why.

“Levi…?”

It was him, Eren had no doubt about it. He didn’t dwell on how he had been able to find him in the middle of such a crowded place considering the man looked as short as Eren remembered him to be. Levi was here, in Japan, and it was the only thing that mattered to Eren.

“Levi!”

Eren started running towards the man he hadn’t let out of his sight ever since he had seen him, yelling his name while doing so, attracting a few weird looks from passersby. He had finally found the person he longed to see; he couldn’t let him slip away. It might be his only chance after all.

“Levi!” Eren yelled for the umpteenth time as he finally managed to reach him. Levi turned around to look at him and Eren could immediately tell by looking into his eyes that Levi knew who he was.

“Eren…?” Levi asked, and Eren could faintly hear an accent in the way he pronounced his name.

“Levi, it’s you! I finally found you!” Eren said between two pants, a little breathless from his running. He couldn’t help but smile in front of the man, his cheeks hurting and his heart beating extremely fast, both from exhaustion and the overflowing happiness taking over every cell of his body. “What are you doing here? Wait, it doesn’t matter,” Eren started babbling. “I have so many things to tell you!”

When he didn’t get an answer after a while, Eren studied Levi’s expression, curious as to why he was being silent. Levi looked utterly confused, his eyebrows knitted together in what seemed like frustration, and his eyes were shifting right and left as if he was thinking very hard about something. Then it dawned on Eren that Levi hadn’t understood him.

“Levi, you… don’t speak Japanese?” Maybe it was a stupid question considering Levi wouldn’t understand if he indeed didn’t speak the language, but Eren was at a loss as to what to do.

“I… Japanese, speaks a little,” Levi said and it was clear as day he didn’t know how to express himself in the language very well. Eren hadn’t even thought of that since he had found Levi in Japan, but now there was no doubt. He wasn’t from here. “English?” Levi tried to ask, a hopeful look on his face.

Eren bit his bottom lip, cursing himself from not having pursued his English classes after high school and not being able to remember enough to be able to converse in the language. “No, sorry…”

“Merde,” Levi muttered in a frustrated tone. Even though Eren didn’t understand the language, he could tell Levi was upset. “Uh… Japanese, okay. Talk slowly…?”

Eren nodded fervently at Levi. He wanted nothing more than to talk with him, ask him where he came from and hear about his life, but he guessed it would take a little bit of time with the language barrier. It didn’t matter though. They were lucky enough that Levi had a few notions of Japanese; they could make this work.

“Where are you from?” Eren asked slowly, articulating each word to make sure Levi could understand him better. When he saw Levi frown and look at the ground in deep thoughts he tried again, not sure if he hadn’t understood him or if he was trying to find how to reply, “Country?"

Levi’s face lit up at the word and now Eren was 100% sure he had understood him. “Oh! Uh.. France. I’m French.”

Eren smiled at the new information, finding it quite fitting for some reasons. Then he realized that if Levi hadn’t come to Japan, to Tokyo more precisely, they would probably have never met. They had been very lucky; even luckier considering how big the capital was. What were the odds that the both of them would be in the same part of the same district the same day at the same hour?

“You…” Levi started, gaining Eren’s attention back. “You Japanese?” Eren could see with the way he was narrowing his eyes and looking intensely at his face that there was more to his question. With Eren’s big green eyes, tanned skin and chocolate brown hair, it was probably hard for the man to believe he was Japanese, and for good reasons.

“No, no! I’m German,” Eren replied with a small smile, looking at the curious expression taking over Levi’s features. “I, uh… When I was nine, I came here with my family.” Eren said it a few more times with hand gestures -which he had no idea if it helped Levi understanding him better or not- and very slowly until Levi seemed to understand what he had said.

“So, France…” Eren started again after an awkward silence. “Why did you come to Japan?”

Levi was frowning even harder, and Eren was about to try to ask him in a different way when Levi started rumbling in what he presumed was French, “Merde, comment j’explique ça…”

Eren, not knowing what it was about, asked Levi again but the raven stopped him with a frustrated “I understood!”. Eren didn’t get offended; he could easily relate to how frustrating this situation was. He had so many things he wanted to say to Levi, but he had to refrain himself because he knew the man wouldn’t understand.

“Travel?” Eren said, trying to help Levi in his search for the right word. “Work?”

“No, um… Travel,” Levi repeated, looking relieved for Eren’s help. “I, uh…”

“Take your time,” Eren told him with a soft smile. He wanted so much to take the man’s hand in his but he had no idea how Levi would react to that.

“I love Japan. Um… I learn Japanese?” Eren nodded, showing he was listening and had understood him. “Japan travel… but expensive? One, Tokyo. And, uh…” Levi looked once again deep in thoughts before he sighed, seeming to give up. “Yeah.”

“It’s nice,” Eren smiled at him, and he really thought so.

Levi had had the courage to go to a country where he hardly spoke the language because he wanted to visit it so badly; it was really brave of him. Eren was proud of him. On his side, he wouldn’t even dare go to another country if Armin wasn’t with him since he couldn’t speak English for the life of him.

“You like manga? Anime?” Eren asked with real curiosity. He hadn’t imagined Levi to be the same as Jean, but since the raven was in Akihabara, surely it meant he liked it too.

“Uh? No!” Levi scoffed, looking offended. Eren laughed at that which earned him a small slap on his shoulder. “Friend… Friend likes anime,” Levi explained.

“We’re the same,” Eren laughed again, but Levi didn’t seem to understand what he had said. “Me too,” Eren tried again. “My friend likes anime.”

Levi snorted at that and silence fell over them once more, but it was a comfortable one this time. Eren took this opportunity to look more closely at Levi, examining his features and trying to commit them to memory. He had small and narrow eyes, which were grey with small pecks of blue. They were framed by long and thin black eyebrows as well as purple bags under them. Levi’s hair was styled in a very similar way to what Eren remembered, a neat undercut with long silky black hair falling slightly on his forehead, which made the brunet wonder if the man had ever had another hairstyle in his life. His features were sharp, with high cheekbones and a pointy nose, and a small mouth with full pink lips. Eren unconsciously licked his own, wanting nothing more than to kiss the man senseless, but he restrained himself. He didn’t want to make Levi uncomfortable, especially since he had no idea how the man was feeling about him.

“Eren,” Levi said in a low voice, but Eren heard it nonetheless, snapping himself out of his daze. “You… Um…” He frowned, the same look of frustration which Eren was very familiar with by now on his face. “Putain, pourquoi je me prends la tête avec ça ?”

Eren arched an eyebrow at Levi mumbling to himself in French but smiled nonetheless. It was quite endearing watching him fumble with his words. Eren was quite surprised when Levi suddenly looked at him with determination after his little motivational speech, and gulped loudly when the man came closer to him.

“Hotel room come? With me?” Levi asked, his eyes shining with determination and something else Eren couldn’t quite decipher. His cheeks became instantly red when he understood what Levi had asked him and he smiled shyly at the man, finally acting on his impulse of taking his hand in his. Levi jumped a little at the contact, but then relaxed. He looked relieved when Eren gave him a small nod, and together they left the busy street to head to the closest subway station, hand in hand.

The time it took them to reach Levi’s hotel was torture for Eren, being so close to the man but still unable to hold him. The very short skin contact they had had while holding hands had ignited a fire inside of him and Eren had no idea how to control it nor prevent it from spreading too far throughout his body. He tried his best to stay calm and restrain himself, but the moment the door to Levi’s room closed behind them, any barrier he still had melted and he threw himself on the raven. Eren hadn’t been the only one restraining himself as Levi met him halfway, pressing his lips on his with a passion and eagerness matching the brunet’s.

Their kiss was hurried and sloppy before they eventually cooled down, watching each other in the eye tenderly, their lips meeting in a much softer way. Levi’s hands had been everywhere on his body -his arms, his hips, his thighs, under his shirt on his stomach- but now they were gripping his hair and untying it. Eren couldn’t decide where to put his either, wanting to touch the raven everywhere, mapping his body to get to know it better.

Earlier they had struggled to understand each other because of the language barrier, but there was no such thing now. Body language was something they were both fluent in, and they needed no words to understand what the other wanted; their bodies were doing all the talking. It didn’t mean they were being silent. On the contrary, the room was filled with their pants and moans, as well as them chanting the other’s name in cries of pleasure and ecstasy. Eren had waited his whole life to find Levi again and now that he finally had him, now that he could feel his skin against his, their hands intertwined as Levi pleasured him in ways he would have never thought possible, he couldn’t imagine his life without him.

Eren could see the same thoughts passing through Levi’s mind as they were lying on their side later on, their foreheads touching and their legs intertwined. His grey eyes were filled with warmth and affection, but also with a longing Eren knew oh too well. They had both been waiting to find each other again and now that they had, nothing would stand in their way. Not languages, not distance. They would find a way to make it work, Eren was sure of that.

They came up with a more efficient way to communicate, using translating applications and dictionaries to be sure they could say what they wanted to each other. Eren learned that Levi was passionate about Japan’s history and culture, and that his dream was to travel all around the country to visit many historical places, shrines and temples. He had been studying Japanese for over a year but was struggling with it, first because he was learning on his own, but also because his work was keeping him extremely busy. Levi explained to him why he had been in Akihabara, which was indeed quite similar to Eren. Apparently, Hanji was also living in France and was a huge anime fans, just like Jean, and Levi had been on an errand for them. Eren listened with a smile on his face as Levi told him about how they had met and how they had been friends for a long time now, who else he had found from their past lives too, and Eren did as well.

Levi was only there for another week and they spent it together until the last minute. Eren took him to places he knew the raven would like, showing him around the capital, but also to places not too far from Tokyo, and by the way his eyes would sparkle, Eren knew Levi was delighted. When they weren’t visiting some places, they were either in a tea shop talking or in Levi’s hotel room. They were both aware that they would have to say goodbye to each other soon, but they never talked about it. Eren knew it wouldn’t be the end anyway, he had been keeping in touch with Armin for years, there was no reason this couldn’t work with Levi as well. Even if the lack of physical touch would probably be hard, Eren tried to comfort himself by thinking about his upcoming trip to Germany. France was a bordering country and there was no way Eren wouldn’t take that opportunity to go visit Levi in his homeland.

* * *

“Eren, we’ll talk. It’s fine,” Levi mumbled into Eren’s chest as the brunet hugged him for the umpteenth time.

Eren knew it, they had spent the night before talking about how they would keep in touch, exchanging every bit of contact information they could think of, already planning their first Skype call for once Levi would be back in France. Still, he couldn’t help himself. Even knowing that he would see Levi again in a month when he would travel to Europe wasn’t enough for him. He needed the physical reassurance and wanted to hold Levi in his arms as long as he would be able to.

“I know,” Eren sighed as he kissed the crown of Levi’s hair, feeling his stomach flutter as the man’s hands gripped him tighter.

Eren reluctantly stepped away but hold on to Levi’s shoulders to keep him close still. Levi looked at him with a found expression, his fingers drawing circles on his hips to comfort him. Levi’s confident expression made some of Eren’s worries melt, but he could see in his lover’s eyes some lingering sadness too. They both knew it would be hard, but they could make it work.

“Eren,” Levi said in a tone he couldn’t decipher, his expression a mystery too.

“Hm?”

Levi looped a hand around Eren’s neck to be able to put his mouth right next to his ear, and the words he uttered next left him perplexed.

“Je t’aime.”

Eren didn’t know a lot of French, had never studied it to be honest, but these words he knew. Their meaning clicked inside his head almost instantly and his face became hot just as fast. Levi’s much cooler hand came to cup one of his cheeks and at the sight of his boyfriend’s tender smile Eren relaxed, his heart still beating inside his chest like crazy.

“I love you too,” Eren said as he brought him into a passionate kiss, not caring that they were in the middle of an airport with people looking at them with curious gaze.

They stayed pressed against each other for a few more minutes before it was eventually time for Levi to go. Eren looked at him going towards the security check with a heavy heart, but a smile graced his lips when he saw Levi looking back in his direction to wave him goodbye one more time.

“It’s gonna be fine,” Eren whispered to himself. “We’ll be fine.”

After a few more minutes spent standing in the middle of the airport, Eren eventually left to go back to his apartment. Mikasa welcomed him with a comforting hug, knowing how hard it was for him, and gave him a small pat on his back before going back to her occupations. Eren let out a sigh before he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. A small smile appeared on his lips when he unlocked it and found a message from Levi – a picture of a fuming cup of tea with a text saying “waiting”.

Levi was right. They could do this. They were lucky enough to live in an age where they could easily and instantly communicate with someone being on the over side of the planet. With a few taps on his screen, Eren replied to his boyfriend with a picture of the Eiffel Tower and a text saying “can’t wait”, to let him know how excited he was of coming to see him in France in over a month.

Eren ignored Levi’s reply telling him that he didn’t actually live in Paris in favor of wishing him a safe trip back.

The first few weeks were quite hard on the both of them, but they managed to find moments where their schedules allowed them to video chat. It was a bit difficult because of their different time zones, but Eren was already used to it with Armin. They would text during the day, send each other pictures, and Eren would always smile at the way Levi would scoff at him when he would use complicated kanjis in his text, forcing him to search for them and giving him a hard time sometimes. Eren would laugh it up and say it was to help him learn.

With Eren’s help, Levi improved his Japanese faster than if he had continued learning on his own. The mere fact that they were texting each other in Japanese was already enough for Levi to get better, and with Eren correcting him or giving him advice on how to make good sentences, Levi was learning even more quickly. Eren was always pleasantly surprised when they would talk on Skype and would hear how much Levi had improved. It made him feel so proud and happy for his boyfriend.

By the time Eren went to visit Levi in France, the raven had improved so much and was more comfortable speaking Japanese with him. Levi still relied on dictionaries and translator apps from time to time, but that was to be expected; it had only been a month after all.

Language was not and would never be an impossible barrier to overcome, Eren had realized quickly, especially if they had each other to tear it down.

* * *

The deafening sound of people walking back and forth in the airport was only white noise in Eren’s ears as he sat at the arrivals lounge. It had been two years since the last time he had been able to see Levi with his own eyes, since he had touched and kissed him, and time couldn’t have passed more slowly. His right leg was bouncing up and down in a nervous gesture and he was checking the time on his phone every two minutes in the hope it would make Levi’s plane arrive faster.

Eren was nervous but overall excited. He was finally going to see his boyfriend again, feel his skin under his fingers and his lips on his. He was going to hear his voice without the crackling of a microphone and look into his eyes without seeing pixels. These past two years had been torture for him, but it had all been worth it since Levi was going to make his dream come true. After years of working to save up enough money, years of learning Japanese, Levi had finally been able to organize the trip he had always dreamed of, and Eren was going to come with him. They were going to spent the next ten months travelling all around Japan together and Eren was more than thrilled about the idea. Obviously because that meant he would spend those months with Levi, but also because he had never had the occasion of travelling too much besides his back and forth trips to Germany.

The idea of Levi fulfilling his dream and sharing it with him was also enough to make Eren buzz with excitement.

Too caught up in the fantasy of their upcoming trip, Eren didn’t realize Levi’s plane had landed. It was only when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and saw people rushing out with suitcases that he realized it had been more than thirty minutes already; enough time for people to have come off of the plane and retrieve their luggage.

Eren was on his feet in a matter of seconds, checking his phone to read Levi’s text before he started looking around the terminal with frantic eyes, searching for his boyfriend. The moment his eyes found him, it was like all noises died down around him. Their eyes were locked on each other, and Eren could see the distance separating them shortening even though he wasn’t even aware of moving. His arms opened up and the wind was knocked out of him as he felt the short man jump into his arms.

Eren held Levi as close to him as he could, his nose buried in his hair to smell his familiar and comforting scent. Levi’s face was buried in his neck and he could feel his breathing prickling his skin, making a chill run all the way down his body.

He was back. Levi was back, and Eren never wanted to let him go ever again.

“Okaeri,” Eren whispered in Levi’s ear, afraid that if he spoke too loud he would realize this was only a dream, making the man in his arms disappear.

Levi hummed against his neck and wiggled a little out of Eren’s grasp in order to cup his face, a gentle smile on his lips and his eyes shining with endless happiness.

“Tadaima.”

Eren’s lips split up in the largest smile he had ever had before they crashed against Levi’s, drawing a small sigh of contentment from the both of them at the contact. Kissing Levi felt like taking a much-needed intake of fresh air after having been underwater for a long time, and Eren could feel his whole body coming alive in his lover’s embrace.

They didn’t know what the future would be made of. Maybe they would be separated again after this trip was over, maybe it would take them years to find a way to be together without having to say goodbye to each other countless of times, but in this moment, it didn’t matter. They had managed to find each other in this very big world, and it would take more than some petty obstacles like languages or distance to break them apart.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've watched a lot of anime you'll probably know what " **Okaeri** " and " **Tadaima** " means, but for those who don't, I'll explain:  
> In Japan, when you go back to your house you'd say "Tadaima", which translate to "I'm home", and then whoever is there would say back to you "Okaeri", which means "Welcome back".  
> I left the Japanese words because I find that it has more meaning that way :)
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated <3  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
